HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-02-23, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017. PAGE 19.
Entertainment & Leisure
Fraser, Carmichael to direct Festival shows
A history with Blyth
Severn Thompson, right, seen here playing the pregnant playwright in the 2015 Blyth Festival
production of Seeds opposite David Fox, has been tapped to direct The Pigeon King later this
year. She has also been named the theatre's Associate Artistic Director alongside Artistic
Director Gil Garratt, a position Garratt himself held opposite then -Artistic Director Eric Coates
for a number of years. Thompson spent many years in Blyth, whether it was as a part of the
Young Company as a child or directing and acting at the Festival in her adult years. (TerryManzo
photo)
Continued from page 1
Taylor, will be directed by Brad
Fraser, another newcomer to Blyth.
Fraser is often referred to as one of
the country's most well known
playwrights. He is based in
Edmonton and his plays have been
produced all over Canada and
throughout the world.
Garratt says Fraser is "notoriously
provocative" and he's just the right
person to direct The Berlin Blues, a
comedy that's "full of wit" that tells
the story of German developers
turning a First Nations reserve into a
theme park.
He says the show has a television -
like quality to it, which is something
that will work well with Fraser's
direction style.
Garratt says he's known Fraser for
a number of years and has seen a
number of his shows, so he's
familiar with Fraser's work and
thinks he'll be a good fit for the
Blyth Festival.
The third show, The Pigeon King,
will be directed by Festival familiar
face Severn Thompson, who has
now been named the Festival's
Associate Artistic Director, a title
Garratt once held for a number of
years under then -Artistic Director
Eric Coates.
Thompson has been with the
Festival for a number of years in
several different capacities. She was
one of the lead actors in the 2015
production of Seeds, and she
directed Beyond The Farm Show in
2013 after working with the
Festival's Young Company one year
earlier. In addition to being one of
the country's leading stage actors,
she is also the daughter of Paul
Thompson who created The Farm
Show, which in many ways proved to
be the inspiration for the Blyth
Festival.
"She's got a deep history here and
she knows this community," Garratt
said of Thompson.
In addition to understanding the
community, Thompson also
understands working on a collective
play like The Pigeon King. Garratt
says Thompson will be a member of
the team alongside the writers and
actors, developing concepts for the
play and crafting it from start to
finish.
Telling the story of Arlan
Galbraith, a tale that has deep roots
with many community members,
requires a director familiar with the
area, Garratt said. Thompson is the
perfect director to step into that role.
Garratt also says that because of
The Pigeon King's nature, he has
Two one -woman shows coming to studio
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
As part of this year's Blyth
Festival season, two powerful one -
woman shows are planned for the
Phillips Studio for short runs in
August and September.
Artistic Director Gil Garratt has
programmed the two shows and says
he's very excited about their
potential with Blyth Festival
audiences.
He compares the Phillips Studio to
chamber music, saying that some
music is meant to be played by a
large orchestra in a massive concert
hall, while other music is meant to
be performed by a quartet in a
smaller venue.
These two shows, he said, are
perfectly suited for the intimate
Phillips Studio, which will also be
newly renovated for the 2017 season
alongside Memorial Hall.
The first show to be produced at
the studio this season is called The
Downs by Sheryl Scott and
produced by the London-based
Primordial Soup Theatre Company.
The show was the runaway hit of
the London Fringe Festival, which
Joe Belanger of The London Free
Press called "an artistic
achievement" and the show
audiences shouldn't miss at the 2015
festival.
Scott, of London, is also the one
woman at the centre of the show,
playing Millie, an East Coast farm
wife in the 1950s.
Garratt said the show is very funny
and will find a home with Blyth
Festival audiences. It also means a
lot to him that he's able to bring a
relatively local artist from London to
the Blyth Festival stage after success
at one of the province's many Fringe
Festivals.
"I think it's very important to
encourage these voices," Garratt
said.
The Downs will be produced at the
Blyth Festival in the Phillips Studio
in mid-August, Garratt said, before
it will make way for the annual
Young Company show, which will
be held near the end of August.
The second professional show
scheduled for the Phillips Studio this
season is called Watching Glory Die
produced by the Mulgrave Road
Theatre from rural Nova Scotia, a
theatre company, Garratt said, not
unlike the Blyth Festival.
Watching Glory Die tells the story
of the case of Ashley Smith, the 19 -
year -old woman who died from self-
inflicted strangulation while on
suicide watch at the Grand Valley
Institute for Women in Kitchener.
Smith died while guards watched
on video monitors and it would
be 45 minutes until guards
entered her cell and confirmed
she had died.
Smith has been renamed Glory for
the purposes of Watching Glory Die,
which is written by Governor
General's Award-winning
playwright Judith Thompson and
stars Stephanie MacDonald in the
lead role.
MacDonald, Garratt says, will
play Glory, as well as a number of
different characters in the
production, including one of the
institute's guards and Glory's
mother, to name a few. She won the
2016 Robert Merritt Award for
outstanding female lead
performance for her work in
Watching Glory Die when it
premiered in Nova Scotia.
The show will be directed by
Emmy Alcorn, the Artistic Director
of the Mulgrave Road Theatre who
has been with the company for
nearly two decades.
Group seeks veteran's families
The Dutch -Canadians Remember
as One Committee of Huron County
is in the process of planning events
to be held in Goderich during the
month of May, 2017, during
Canada's 150th anniversary year.
These celebrations and ceremonies
will be especially focused upon the
20 men from Huron County and the
7,600 Canadians who paid the
supreme sacrifice during the push to
liberate the Netherlands in 1944 -
1945.
These events in May, 2017 will
involve veterans, youth, military and
of course the citizens of Huron
County.
The objective of these celebrations
and ceremonies is commemoration,
honour, remembrance and respect,
and this will all take place at
Liberation Memorial Park in
Goderich.
The events include the unveiling
of a commemorative/memorial
plaque, the unveiling of new signage
at the park, the re -dedication of
Liberation Memorial Park, a parade
that will include many military
vehicles of the World War II era, a
Continued on page 20
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scheduled an extra -long rehearsal
process to ensure success.
The final main stage show,
Ipperwash, will be directed by
newcomer Jessica Carmichael, who
has also written the play alongside
Falen Johnson.
Carmichael is the Artistic Director
of the Carousel Players, a
professional theatre for young
audiences based in St. Catharines.
She has also been heavily involved
with Native Earth Performing Arts in
Toronto over the years.
Because Carmichael is so involved
with First Nations theatre throughout
the country, and because she and
Johnson have made so many
connections in the Kettle and Stony
Point First Nation community,
Garratt felt she was the perfect
director for her own show.
"They've been working to build
trust in that community and they're
honouring that trust," Garratt said.
He says that the Festival hasn't
had many playwrights direct their
own shows over the years, but he has
known Carmichael for five years and
trusts her creativity immensely,
saying she is one of few other artists
in his inner circle.
The Blyth Festival box office is
now open to members and will open
for sales to the general public on
April 1 at blythfestival.com.
Brodhagen Chamber of Commerce
MEN'S NIGHT
Friday, March 3
PIGTAILS &
RIBS DINNER
6:00 pm - 12:30 am
Dinner 7:00 pm
$25.00 each
For tickets call: Roy 519-345-2209
Pauline 519-348-0940
Jim 519-345-2248
Advance tickets only by February 25
Brodhagen Community Centre
Check out
www.brodhagencommunitycentre.com
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